Monk de-Monked

I had my introduction to the music of Meredith Monk this week (I’m analyzing and writing about Bjork’s remarkable Medulla album, which bears Monk’s influence in spots). I find the music simultaneously repulsive and utterly captivating. Monk’s voice is really quite spectacular, even if some of the sounds she makes are (intentionally) far outside the circle of conventional Western vocal production. I’m particularly intrigued by her piano-vocal pieces. Most of them are built around a simple piano figure (some might say minimalistic even though she shuns the word) with a vocal line that gradually goes from simple and melodic to rangy and shrill. It’s really a good demonstration of the capabilities of the human voice and how sort of boxed-in we classical singers are. I’m not saying I want to sound like Meredith Monk (I don’t think anyone could) but I can appreciate the journey into uncharted vocal territory. This is somewhat the same reason why I listen to "pop" singers; often the untrained voice is more able to explore a wider range of colours without always wondering if it’s healthy or "on the breath". I’m always impressed by singers that know their voices so well and can choose colours at will to inflect different musical phrases. This is why I like people like Jeff Buckley, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Bjork, Audra McDonald and Thom Yorke from Radiohead. I have to say I’ve learned more from any one of these singers than I have from any number of classical singers.

Suggested listening: "Volcano Songs-Duets" from Volcano Songs; "Biography" from Dolmen Music, both available from your neighbourhood Amazon retailer...